Anthropic IPO retail applications open in Japan as brokers set deadlines

Japan's Mizuho Securities opened retail applications for Anthropic's planned initial public offering on November 12. The Claude developer has named participating brokerages and other sellers in Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Switzerland and nine countries in the European Economic Area. South Korea is absent from that list of proposed international retail offerings. Eligible customers can request a share allocation through participating brokers ahead of the planned Nasdaq listing.

Mizuho's online lottery takes applications until 10 a.m. Japan time on November 18. SBI Securities said in a November 12 announcement that it had begun taking requests the day before and listed a cutoff of 10:59 a.m. Japan time on November 18. In the United States, Fidelity expects its offer period to close at 4 p.m. Eastern time on November 17. Anthropic expects to set the offering price on November 18 and begin trading on November 19, both Eastern time, subject to regulatory clearance.

Brokers in Japan set their own terms

Anthropic named Mizuho, SBI, Rakuten and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley and its affiliates as participating sellers in Japan. The offering covers the Class A common shares Anthropic has applied to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol ANT. The brokers handle local distribution ahead of that U.S. listing. Anthropic says it has no current plans to list the shares on exchanges in the international markets it named.

The terms can vary even within one brokerage. Mizuho limits online lottery requests to 100 shares, with applications through branches or the call center available in one-share increments. Mizuho's online allocations settle in yen. SBI settles in dollars and checks purchasing power against the top of the indicated price range. If that balance covers fewer shares than requested, SBI enters only the quantity the customer can afford.

Mizuho expects to post online lottery results around 10 a.m. Japan time on November 19. It takes cancellations until 12:59 p.m. that day, after which funded allocations generally settle automatically. SBI plans to post lottery results on November 19 as well. The application records a request before either broker determines its allocation.

Fidelity's confirmation comes after pricing

Fidelity says it will accept indications of interest starting at 25 shares, in increments of 25, from accounts that meet its eligibility requirements. The requested amount is the maximum the customer wants to buy. The broker says the number it can allocate depends on customer demand and the shares it receives from the issuer and underwriters. A customer may receive some of the requested shares or receive no allocation.

Fidelity requires customers to confirm their interest after the registration statement becomes effective and the offering is priced. The confirmation turns the indication into an order at the offering price. Anthropic expects brokerages and investing apps to report allocations on the first trading day. After trading begins, exchange transactions take place at the prevailing market price.

The nine countries on Anthropic's EEA list are Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden. Anthropic groups brokers for the EEA and Switzerland on a single list that covers firms operating in one or more of those markets. In the United Kingdom, RetailBook coordinates the proposed offer through a network of intermediaries for people who live in the country and are physically there.

Local offering documents govern the sale in each market. Anthropic said it had filed a securities registration statement in Japan that had yet to take effect when the company guidance was checked. Mizuho lists November 19 in Japan as the expected pricing date, while Anthropic lists November 18 in Eastern time. Both dates refer to the planned pricing step before the shares begin trading on Nasdaq.